Jul 6, 2004
Gouverneur Morris: The Antislavery Founding Father
Will Wilkinson has an entertaining and thoughtful piece in Reason on a forgotten architect of the Constitution, Gouverneur Morris.
His discussion of Morris's incisive antislavery critique at the Convention is particularly valuable. Wilkinson argues persuasively that those who point to the"the context of the time" to excuse the founders for failing to take a stronger stand against slavery often forget that people like Morris repeatedly admonished them about their culpability in protecting the institution.